The Complexities of Kong The original King Kong, directed and produced in 1933 by Merian C. Cooper, set a groundbreaking decades-long precedent for all subsequent thriller, horror, and animation films made in Hollywood. Three versions of this movie spanned several decades. King Kong tells the story of an attractive woman and a frightening gigantic ape-monster who are immersed in a beauty and the beast type tale. Through Cooper’s visual imagery and specific dialogue, he conveys themes of racism, sexuality, and gender numerous times to open the minds of cultural differences. Cooper reveals his views on racism through visual and behavioral contrast between the indigenous and urban people. In the beginning of the movie, Carl Denham, a prestigious …show more content…
With “lower,” animal instincts, the ape often functions as a human-like symbol of desire. An enormous furry ape and his uncontrollable quest for a “blonde” beautified by Hollywood implies that Ann is simply an object to be desired and a prize to be obtained. This helps justify Cohen’s argument that “through the body of the monster fantasies of aggression, domination, and inversion are allowed safe expression” (Cohen 25). Cooper uses his imagination to convince other male viewers that Ann is seen as a dream girl. Kong also is seen with lustful desire as he slowly peels her clothes reveling skin underneath. This was a big eye opener to audiences watching due to the many restrictions movie and TV shows had on what to show. Kong is captured for only one reason, he won't take no for an answer. He angrily and mightily pursues Ann, only to be conquered by Denham and his crew and brought to New York. Not soon after, Kong breaks free in a Broadway theater. He chases a terrified Darrow who is easily plucked by Kong off a bed, a sexual object, through the window of an apartment. She cries out in fear from the top of the Empire State Building while Kong is attacked by toy planes. In this final scene, the viewer feels some sympathy for the ape, even though Ann shows no concern for Kong. To the very end, Kong brings his attentions to Ann as he picks her up and places …show more content…
After Ann boards the ship, the ship’s crew is distant and disapproving that any women should be on board. This is later emphasized when Captain Jack replies to Ann, “This is no place for a girl” (Cooper 1933). Cooper uses Ann as a source of crossing boundaries of gender expectations and idealisms. This is further proven when Jack replies, “You ain’t women,” showing that Ann defeated her role as a women in New York standards (Cooper 1933). Girls had very little power and certain expectations to follow that are now uncommon in this era. As Kong holds Ann, he encounters a large number of enormous prehistoric creatures. In his effort to protect Ann he uses his masculinity built from nature in the strength and courage to fight other monsters. In contrast, Jack, her love interest, uses technology and machinery to defend himself and define his own masculinity. However, Ann portrays a typical stereotype as the damsel in distress. She often screams but seems helpless never willing to defend or attempt to escape. Also Kong’s victims are particularly all female through the human sacrifice where as other monsters such as Dracula have a broad range of victims that he uses for his own personal
The films, Remember The Titans and The Sapphires are both discovering significant social messages of racial conflict. With these messages and the techniques used in both films they have resulted in two powerful films that highlight racial discrimination. This essay will explore the relationship between the filmmaking and the social messages it is trying to highlight, as well as the similarities, differences and techniques shared between both films
Aesthetics help contribute to make a movie more enjoyable. Breaking it down, there are a few types of aesthetics that can be observed, including formalist and realistic aesthetics. The film The King of Kong: Fistful of Quarters uses realistic aesthetics, such as on camera interview, Text/data on screen, real mise-en-scene, and existing footage to make up the movie. On the other hand. Wreck-It Ralph uses formalist aesthetics like expressive mise-en-scene and expressive editing throughout the film.
I chose to critique the film “The Elephant Man” it is an iconic filmmaking endeavor. Director David Lynch shows the sadness and the scariness of deformities onto the audience in a way that touches your heart and leaves you with a sense of sadness and will also leave a tear in your eye. Most of the people who have watched this film are touched and completely changes the way they view crippled, weak, and deformed people in this world.
Did the film reveal any form of RACISM or STEREOTYPING from any perspective? Please elaborate with details/examples (14.28 Possible Points). 100 word minimum between the two
Classic stories remain a classic because they convey a message which appeals to people of multiple generations despite changes in society. King Kong was released in print in 1932, a year prior to its release in Hollywood, as a part of the film’s advance marketing. The public of this generation easily accepted the story’s racist, colonialist, and sexist themes. Today, literary critics such as Cynthia Erb view the novel and film as representation of the early 30s and thus a resource to understand the cultural context of the times. In particular, King Kong provides a window through which a modern audience can understand and interpret racism of the 1930s.
Discrimination, racism, classism, prejudice and more plague today’s society. These horrible issues do not affect one race, sexes, class, ethnicity, or age group; these issues affect all races, both genders, all ethnicities, and all age groups. For this film analysis, I have chosen to discuss the racism portrayed throughout a three-time Oscar award winning movie called Crash.
The movie, Crash, demonstrates the lives of various individuals from divergent socio-economic classes, who have life changing experiences in between their conflicting prejudices and stereotypes. The theme of multiculturalism has also made its influence on the major characters of the movie: a white American district attorney and his wife who is constantly scared of "the other"; two African American thieves who steal their car, a racist police officer who offends an African American TV producer and harasses his wife, a non-racist police officer, a Latino lock maker, a Persian family and another African American detective in the search of his brother. The plot of the movie intersects all characters ' lives and their attitudes towards each other after 9/11, while making the audience question the validity of prejudices and racial stereotypes. In this brief essay, we are going to discuss how racism and stereotyping have the impact on the lives of some main characters in the movie, considering the development of the storyline and the impact of various incidents that change their perspective towards themselves and each other.
The film frequently demonstrates racism and prejudice within the small-town as gossip and rumours are spread based upon race or appearance. Jasper Jones is a young aboriginal boy who is accused of
The film grants audiences to gestate their understanding of the movie and the manner experiences antiquated regarding racial violence and prejudice. The ineptitude of history implies to the intellectual chattels that chronicles and culture can have on all progeny. Malcolm Little would ultimately revolutionize into his worst adversary, that entangled with the decisions he would subsequently make. Malcolm's philosophic mentality and provocation with death was indicative to his life. The remarkable depiction in the film pronounced the indubitable fortitude and essence of the audience.
The degree of connection between all of the characters in the movie is so coincidental and interrelated to emphasize the point that we do not always know what is going on with everyone else we may encounter. It also accentuates the fact that racism is not one particular race against another. It also shows that we never know someone’s situation and what is happening in their life to make them act the way that they do if
Racism, prejudice and stereotyping, as the main themes of the movie, control all the sub-stories that are somehow linked to each other. Moreover, as the stories go on and events develop, it becomes possible to see how characters start to have changes in their perspective and attitude towards each other, either in a good or a bad way. An incident which can demonstrate our thesis on racism and stereotyping and how it might change in just one moment which brings people closer could be shown as the conflict between the racist police officer and the African American woman who gets harassed by him, and whose life is saved by him on the next day. The first encounter of the woman and the officer resulted with the woman
Another issue in the movie was attitudes. All races have attitudes towards people that are not like their own, whether they are good or bad. Attitudes I believe are connected with experiences. What one experiences with another race can affect the way their attitude is towards them.
Traditionally, animated films have been made for and consumed by children, with the plotlines and themes being relatively basic and forthright. However, recent years have seen the release of animated films that explore significantly more adult themes and thought provoking ideas. Perhaps the most confronting example of adult themes in an animated film is in 2016’s ‘Zootopia’. The film forces viewers to think about concepts such as racial segregation, nature vs. nurture and the debilitating effect of stereotyping. Although Zootopia features anthropomorphic animals, it is easy to draw a connection between the film’s prey vs. predator narrative and racial divide in our own society.
Racism, prejudice and stereotyping, as the major themes of the movie, Crash, dominate all the
pag) and (“Universal Studios Hollywood” 13). On the island, the filmmakers find that the inhabitants live within a huge palisade as protection from the island's monsters (Selznick, Cooper and Schoedsack n. pag) and (“Universal Studios Hollywood” 13). But King Kong, most fearsome of them all, is only placated by sacrificial offerings of young women (Selznick, Cooper and Schoedsack n. pag) and (“Universal Studios Hollywood” 13). Ann Darrow is kidnapped and offered to the giant gorilla beast (Selznick, Cooper and Schoedsack n. pag). Instead of killing her, he is infatuated, fighting in her defense against the other monsters (Selznick, Cooper and Schoedsack n. pag). Jack Driscoll and the others rescue Ann and capture the giant gorilla that is then taken to New York for exhibition (Selznick, Cooper and Schoedsack n. pag). King Kong subsequently breaks loose and searches for Ann, terrorizing the city (Selznick, Cooper and Schoedsack n. pag). In the end, the great ape climbs with his beloved to the top of the Empire State Building, where fighting airplane flyers machine-gunned him to death (Selznick, Cooper and Schoedsack n. pag).